3
Zelda tried to keep herself from losing it. Of all the times she had heard the legend, the Hero of Time always came and rescued the Princess. Yes, it was incredibly cliché, but that was how it was. If the Hero of Time was evil, there'd be no hope for her. "Oh, Kellik. What am I going to do?"
"You must be strong, my dear. Hyrule is already lost, but there may still be hope."
"How can that be?" one of the guards butted in. Kellik shot him a fierce glance and the man shut up.
"He's right," Zelda said her slowly swelling tears. "What are we going to do?"
"You'll do nothing!" The doors burst open and a crack of lightning lit up outside. Link stood in the doorway brandishing his dark sword.
The guards reacted remarkably fast, but Link was faster, sending their attacks away and slaying them effortlessly. He entered the house slowly, causing Zelda to back away.
"Why is she so afraid of me? Of course, she is of the royal family. They are always afraid of losing their power."
Talia floated forward. "Come on. Fight someone that can actually fight back!"
Link batted her into the wall with a swipe of his hand. "My master has need of you. Come willingly and you won't be harmed."
She took another step back. "N…no."
Link snarled. "Foolish girl!" He charged.
A glowing light appeared from nowhere. Kellik held his staff out and struck Link's chest. Link's steps faltered and he collapsed, his world shrouded in darkness.
Zelda looked on in horror as the light faded. "What…? Did you kill him?"
"No. He's only dreaming." Kellik knelt down and picked up the boy and moved him over to a bench, where he laid him down. "Poor lad. So young and yet to be pulled into such a struggle." Kellik gently laid a hand over the youth's forehead. A series of visions suddenly entered his mind, forcing him to pull his hand back with a gasp. A smile slowly formed over his face.
"How can you be smiling at a time like this?!" Zelda said, her voice almost on the edge of screaming.
"There is still hope. His mind has been clouded. He's not completely under his own will. Don't you realize what this means?" Zelda shook her head bewildered. "If we can get rid of the darkness over his mind, we may be able to turn the tables a bit."
"But you said…"
"Yes, I know. Hyrule is still doomed. But there may be some way to save lives." Kellik held his hand over Link's face and his palm began to glow as he began to chant. Zelda recognized it as a very ancient form of Hylian, one that she didn't even know. The boy on the bench began to squirm.
--
Link was surrounded by people. And they were all screaming.
He was completely unarmed, and there was no one else around, but they all screamed out in agony.
"WHY?! WHY DO YOU DO THIS TO US?!"
"YOU MONSTER!"
"No, I'm trying to save you!" He reached down to the nearest woman, but the moment he touched her skin, she shriveled up into a skeleton.
Seeing it, everyone else began to scream even louder.
Link brought his hands up and covered his ears. The screams were getting too loud. They were piercing him down to the bone.
A voice broke into his mind. "This is your destiny." It was Ganondorf's voice.
"No…NOOO!"
--
Link bolted upright. "NOO!"
Kellik jumped back, instantly on alert. But he was surprised. The boy was crying. He leaned in to comfort him.
Link shoved the man back. "Get away from me."
Zelda stood almost terrified. "I thought you said he wouldn't be evil anymore."
Kellik shook his head. "The evil is still there. I cannot remove it completely, not even he can. But there is some good there."
Link pushed his legs over the edge and reached down for his sword. Kellik twisted his staff, pinning the blade to the floor. Link looked at the man, a fire in his eyes. "Move it."
Kellik returned the look, but slowly lifted the wood and Link picked up his weapon.
"What are you doing?" Zelda screamed. "You can't let him do this!"
Link stepped forward and pressed the blade to her neck. "Outside. NOW!"
Zelda slowly backed into the rain. "Kellik, do something."
He only stood and watched her as she was forced onto the black horse that rose from the ground. "I'm sorry, Princess Zelda. But it is all up to fate now."
Link kicked the horse and they rode into the darkness.
Kellik grabbed as much food and supplies as he could and left the shelter. He went into every house, gathering every villager he could, and began a slow climb up Death Mountain. Ironic to its name, he knew that would probably be the safest place. Talia fluttered after him.
--
The rain assaulted Zelda's face as they rode out of the valley and into the dark grassland. Within seconds her dress was soaked through. "Please, Link. You don't have to do this!"
Link kept his gaze on the trail, his eyes unblinking in the rain. "It is my destiny."
"You're destiny is to save the people, not to kill."
"Sometimes we must kill a few for the greater good of the others."
"That is no justification!" she shouted back, but she forced herself to resign. It was clear that she wasn't going to change him.
They rode in silence except for the heavy rain and squishes of hooves in mud. The city was almost on the verge of flooding when they arrived. Streams of water poured down any sloped surface like a raging river. The skeleton creatures and poes had all dispersed. Now, great boar creatures and large canines in armor patrolled the streets.
They stopped in the central square and dismounted. Zelda dared not try to run. There were simply too many beings that she'd have to fight through. It seemed her fate was inevitable.
Suddenly a door burst open and a single soldier stepped out. "Princess Zelda! NO!" He pulled out a sword and charged at Link.
Zelda held up a hand. "NO! STAY BACK!"
He didn't listen. He held his sword high with a feral scream. Link simply held out his sword and the soldier impaled himself, the blade sliding through his chest armor and out the other side. He stood for a moment with the blade out of his chest before he fell back and slid to the cobblestone. His blood mingled with the rain, creating a red stream that flowed away.
Zelda screamed as the metal rang against the stone. She fell to her knees in front of the body, not even caring about the rain anymore. Tears fell from her eyes that blended with the rain, turning her lips salty.
Link stood over her, watching. What did she care about this soldier? There were so many that she'd probably never even met this one, and yet she wept for him. "Let's go. He is anxious to see you."
"Don't you care at all about who you kill?" she managed to say through her tears.
"I kill only when necessary."
"But you still kill. There are better ways." The other creatures were gathering. The boar things held long menacing halberds at the ready, so Zelda gave the soldier a quick blessing for the afterlife and stood.
Link grabbed her arm and led her down the avenue to the castle, two large canine knights escorting them.
--
Ganondorf stood with his back to the door as they walked in. He seemed to be admiring a large stained glass window high on the far wall. It depicted the Triforce giving light over a large field. There was no light from outside, and the light inside was dim, so it was difficult to make out at this distance, but Zelda knew it well after being in this room many times.
"Your family has never done me justice, my princess," Ganondorf said without turning. Link and the Darknuts knelt while Zelda remained standing. "All I ever wanted was to rule Hyrule, maybe bring a few areas to complete ruin. Is that too much to ask?"
"You will never get away with this, Ganondorf! I will personally see to that!" She tried to sound tough, but her voice betrayed her fear.
He finally turned and looked down at her with a smug smile. "I don't think so. You see, all the pieces of the Triforce have now been assembled."
He held up his hand and a triangle of shining gold materialized in front of it. A similar piece appeared over Zelda and Link's hands. The three pieces rose into the air and touched with a brilliant gold light. The Triforce, complete with all three pieces, floated high up next to the ceiling.
Ganondorf looked up at the holy relic. "So long I have waited to lay my hand upon the Triforce. He who touches it shall have his dearest desire granted."
Zelda stepped forward. "I won't let you have it!"
Ganondorf almost laughed. "You don't have a say in the matter." He snapped his fingers.
Zelda gasped as a pain burst through her chest. She looked down. A black piece of metal was sticking out of her. With barely a sound, she fell forward as Link slid the sword out of her back.
Now Ganondorf let himself laugh. He laughed loud and long as the Triforce slowly began to fall. The whole castle seemed to shake with his voice. "FINALLY! IT'S MINE!"
Link walked forward to stand by his master. Was this the life he was to lead? Endlessly killing? Zelda had been blameless. She had never done anything to warrant death aside from stand between his master and total control. He watched the golden pieces slowly float downward. He could not abandon his darkness. He belonged to Ganondorf and could never be free of that. But he could no longer let the people suffer.
Ganondorf was beside himself with glee. His eyes burned with a heated passion. After centuries of plotting, years of watching his plans crumble, it was finally all coming to perfect fruition.
A sound of metal on bone seemed to silence every other sound in the room. Ganondorf paused and looked down at his chest, where black metal pierced from his jacket. He could sense Link standing behind him, hands clenched around the hilt. "What is the meaning of this?"
Link yanked the blade out and spun, bringing the sword along the ground across Ganondorf's ankles. His feet separated and flew off into the darkness. Without the support, Ganondorf fell with a crash.
The warrior stood over his former master. "This world is not meant for such violence and suffering. You claimed you were the one right to rule, they claimed they were. But it seems, that with all this bloodshed, neither has more right than the other." The Triforce stopped a foot over Link's head.
Ganondorf looked up. "What are you going to do? You cannot rule, and the darkness in you won't let you bring back the light. This was a fool-hearty move. You can't save Hyrule and its people at the same time!"
"I don't plan to." Link reached up and brushed his finger along the smooth gold, which glowed even brighter at his touch. "GODS ABOVE, HEAR MY VOICE AND MAKE MY WISH KNOWN!" He reached back and drew out the Master Sword with his other hand. The light from the Triforce washed over it, and the blackness was swept from its surface.
Ganondorf saw the blade, now restored to its true glory, and quavered. "You can't do this to me!"
Link ignored him. "WASH HYRULE AWAY FROM THIS WORLD! DROWN IT IN A FATHOMLESS RAIN, SO THAT NONE MAY HOLD ITS POWER!"
Even as he spoke, water began to lap at the door to the square. Lake Hylia slowly rose, taking the houses along its shores with it, as the water continued to pour from the heavens. The forests became marsh and then nothing but tree tops on a rising pond. Zora Spring flowed ever faster, washing even the mighty Zora out into the field. The Gorons deep in the caves of Death Mountain had no chance to escape. They became trapped under the rising tide, never to be seen again. The humans that could rushed to the highest points of every province, climbed trees, anything to get away from the encroaching liquid.
Ganondorf began to howl. "SOLDIERS! HELP ME!" Obediently, Moblins and Darknuts began to storm into the room.
Link ignored them. He brought down his hand from the Triforce and wrapped it around the hilt of the Master Sword, which was pointed down at Ganondorf's chest.
"SEAL HYRULE AWAY, AND LET NONE RETURN!" He brought the blade down through Ganondorf's chest a second time.
A shockwave blasted out as the blade was buried. The monsters charging at the Hero all froze in their place. The color slowly began to drain from the walls. The only ones still moving were Link and Ganondorf.
Link leaned in close. "No one shall ever have Hyrule again." He twisted the blade.
Ganondorf screamed as a light blasted from his chest. The light grew in intensity, covering them like a blanket, and suddenly vanished. Link and Ganondorf were gone. All that remained was the Master Sword upright, its tip buried in a stone pedestal.
--
Kellik watched as the water level quickly rose. From Death Mountain, one could have gotten a view of all Hyrule. Now, all one could see was water covering the land with a few new islands dotting the horizon. At long last, the rain finally ceased.
A group of others stood with him, a few families with children and one or two singles. He could tell what they were all thinking: their home was gone.
He turned back to the others. "Do not fear. We will survive. There are some plants up here, and the birds and fish will be our meat. Even without our ancient Hyrule, the people shall live on!" The crowd cheered.
Kellik turned and took one last longing gaze at the sea that now spread before him. The prophecy had come true. Hyrule was gone forever.
